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Hans Knutte (Earth-616)
| Relatives = | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = | Gender = Male | Height = | Weight = | Eyes = | Hair = Brown | UnusualFeatures = | Citizenship = German | MaritalStatus = | Occupation = Reporter, spy | Education = | Origin = Human | PlaceOfBirth = Germany | Creators = Al Avison; | First = Captain America Comics Vol 1 17 | Last = Captain America Comics Vol 1 17 | HistoryText = Hans Knutte was a Fifth Columnist and Nazi spy active in the United States during World War II. By the summer of 1942 he was posing as a newspaper reporter who boldly criticized the American military and often compared them disparagingly to the Nazis in Europe. He organized an attack on Camp Lehigh to steal weapons from the military to use in his operations. This had the luck of providing him new allies. His attack caused powerful tremors beneath the surface of the Earth, forcing a subterranean offshoot of humanity known as the Sub-Earth Men to come to the surface. While their leader Queen Medusa sought peace with the surface world, they were only met with violent opposition that led to the gunning down of a number of her people, despite the intervention of Captain America and Bucky. Following Queen Medusa's brief incarceration and her escape facilitated by Cap and Bucky, the Sub-Earth Men were greeted by Knutte in his guise of the Spook. He convinced the Sub-Earth Men to go to war against the American government, providing them with weapons in order to do so. Although Queen Medusa refused to engage in war, wanting to find a peaceful solution, she was outvoted by her own people, and she seceded leadership to the Spook. The Spook had the Sub-Earth Men fashioned in robes much like his own and led them in the slaughter of innocent American citizens. When Queen Medusa once more pleaded for peace, she was almost stoned to death if not for the intervention of Captain America and Bucky who convinced them to once more give peace a chance. As Captain America rushed off to get the American military to make a peace deal with the Sub-Earth Men, he was ambushed by the Spook who seemingly killed the hero. Cap survived but did not come around until well after the Spook convinced the Sub-Earth Men to attack the American envoy that came to greet them. With the battle raging, the Spook was about to kill Bucky (who was kept with Queen Medusa as a hostage until a peace deal could be arranged) but was stopped by Captain America. The Spook fled and Captain America once more convinced the Sub-Earth Men to make peace. During the peace negotiations, Knutte (back in his guise of a reporter) decried this peace deal. Recognizing his voice as the same belonging to the Spook, Captain America attacked and knocked out Knutte, turning him over to the military brass. The fate of Knutte is unrevealed. | Powers = | Abilities = | Strength = | Weaknesses = | Equipment = | Transportation = After forming an alliance with the Sub-Earth Men, Knutte rode one of their giant worms. | Weapons = As the Spook, Knutte preferred to use a tommy gun. | Notes = | Trivia = | Marvel = | Wikipedia = | Links = }}